I'm using python-selenium and Chrome 59 and trying to automate a simple download sequence. When I launch the browser normally, the download works, but when I do so in headless mode, the download doesn't work.
# Headless implementation
from selenium import webdriver
chromeOptions = webdriver.ChromeOptions()
chromeOptions.add_argument("headless")
driver = webdriver.Chrome(chrome_options=chromeOptions)
driver.get('https://www.mockaroo.com/')
driver.find_element_by_id('download').click()
# ^^^ Download doesn't start
# Normal Mode
from selenium import webdriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get('https://www.mockaroo.com/')
driver.find_element_by_id('download').click()
# ^^^ Download works normally
I've even tried adding a default path:
prefs = {"download.default_directory" : "/Users/Chetan/Desktop/"}
chromeOptions.add_argument("headless")
chromeOptions.add_experimental_option("prefs",prefs)
Adding a default path works in the normal implementation, but the same problem persists in the headless version.
How do I get the download to start in headless mode?
The Chromium developers recently added a 2nd headless mode (in 2021). See https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=706008#c36
They later renamed the option in 2023 for Chrome 109 -> https://github.com/chromium/chromium/commit/e9c516118e2e1923757ecb13e6d9fff36775d1f4
For Chrome 109 and above, the --headless=new flag will now allow you to get the full functionality of Chrome in the new headless mode, and you can even run extensions in it. (For Chrome versions 96 through 108, use --headless=chrome)
Usage: (Chrome 109 and above):
options.add_argument("--headless=new")
Usage: (Chrome 96 through Chrome 108):
options.add_argument("--headless=chrome")
If something works in regular Chrome, it should now work with the newer headless mode too.